A senior United States public health official has issued a direct plea for Americans to receive the measles vaccine, as outbreaks surge across multiple states and experts warn the country risks losing its hard-won measles elimination status. Dr Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, made the appeal during a television interview, as detailed by The Guardian.
The resurgence is particularly acute in South Carolina, where hundreds of cases have been recorded—a number surpassing an earlier measles outbreak in Texas this year. Another cluster has been identified along the Utah-Arizona border, with several additional states confirming cases in 2025. Health authorities note that children have been the most affected patient group.
Public health specialists attribute the sharp rise to growing skepticism toward vaccines, a trend they say is fuelling the return of a disease once declared eliminated in the US. The scale is underscored by data showing that in January alone, the nation recorded 25% of the total measles cases confirmed in the entirety of the previous year, with no indication the outbreaks are slowing.
Dr Oz’s call for vaccination marks the first major statement on the issue from the federal government, which has otherwise remained largely silent. In his remarks on CNN’s State of the Union, he stated: “Take the vaccine, please,” adding that “measles is one you should get your vaccine.” He positioned vaccination as a clear solution, saying, “We have a solution for our problem.”
This stance contrasts with that of his superior, US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has a long history of questioning both the safety and necessity of vaccines. Last year, Kennedy characterised measles vaccination as a matter of personal choice and promoted unproven treatments for the highly contagious illness.
The vast majority of current patients are unvaccinated, yet no national public health campaigns have been announced. Dr Oz has previously aligned himself with Kennedy’s “make America healthy again” campaign, which aims to redesign the country’s food supply, reject vaccine mandates, and cast doubt on some established scientific research. In a past interview with Newsmax, Oz also expressed doubt about the efficacy of annual flu vaccines, suggesting instead that Americans should “take care” of themselves to “overwhelm” the flu.
